All because of chickens

We were both fortunate enough to be selected for a corporate training program. I was a Supervisor in Carrollton, and she was fresh out of college ready to embark on her career in the live side. There was an initial meeting to jump start the program at the corporate site. One week of training with 175 other candidates. That's where my eyes met her, but her eyes did not meet mine. Strike 1. Although it was not the first impression I envisioned, there was still a chance to portray persistence. The last morning came, and we were back to our designated plants with no further contact. Fast forward 6 months later, and we had a midway point of meeting back at the corporate site for additional training with our class. We had a scheduled social event just down the street from our hotel/conference center and I figured that was my best chance to talk to her. Upon my further knowledge, she was celebrating her birthday! Perfect opportunity to insert myself for a casual conversation. I bought her a drink, and the conversation came easy. We talked for hours on end about the industry, about ourselves, about the future, and about baseball (she loves baseball as much as I do). So I tried my luck to get her phone number, and she fell for it. Then came the final trip of our professional training class. It had been another 6 months, but we found ourselves back in Colorado for one last week of training. We were paired together in a carpool group, so it was already off to a great start. At that point, I was falling for her. We spent all of our free time outside of the training with one another. This trip is where we fell for each other, and we didn’t want it to stay in Colorado. Whenever we returned back to Georgia this time, our connection only grew stronger. We talked every free moment. May 19th, 2023 was the day that I decided to no longer be acquaintances with this beautiful woman. I decided to surprise her and drove down after a long day of work from Carrollton to Athens. I woke her up in the middle of the night while her parents were in town to help her move into her new house! She luckily said yes, and little did I know that the house she was moving into is now our house that we live together in and make memories in. In the mist of that weekend helping her move, that’s where the first “I love you” came out to each other. So, over the next year and a half we did the medium distance relationship. We would take turns in traveling to one another and Callie knew what it meant when Morgan packed her kennel because she knew it was road trip time. It was a little hard, but we knew what we wanted, and we stayed true to it. December 2024 is where the next big step came true. The Lord blessed us with the opportunity for me to come work at the Pilgrims in Athens. The opportunity came about very quickly and within a quick 2 weeks we were finally living together full time. All the miles driven and all the money spent was no cost for the outcome of us finally being able to live together. As soon as I moved in, I was plotting on buying the dream ring for the young woman I planned on being with for the rest of my life. While I waited for the ring to come in, I found myself in the most honoring position to ask her dad, Damian, for his blessing to marry his daughter. On the way back from getting some cold beer from the gas station, that’s where I found best to ask. My hands were shaking while I was holding the steer wheel, I was fighting the knot in my stomach, and he looked at me with a big smile and luckily, he gave me the blessing while telling me “There was a no return policy” which we both laughed at. Everything that we had went through was worth it. The trials and tribulations that started when we both went to Colorado the first time, the long road trips to one another, our first “I love you”, and finally moving in together were all just a small testament in our book together. Our story has not ended. We are still writing every day with one another.